Puddle
by ConstantlySleepy
Summary: AU Tony and Pepper meet as teenagers. Pepperony! R&R
1. Chapter 1

Pepper decided that she hated puddles.

Who could possibly like them? They were wet and always seemed to appear when Pepper least expected them. Today was no exception. As she had run towards the bus stop, late as usual, she hadn't even noticed the deceiving collection of raindrops to her feet. Naturally, she stepped into it and came crashing down. Soaked from the polluted water she didn't even bother to get up. She simply gazed at her watch.

_Great._, She thought. _I actually missed the bus today._

As mentioned before, puddles happen to be wet and Pepper started to feel a bit chilly. If she didn't get up soon, she might catch a cold. On the other hand, she really didn't want to move right now and face the wrath of her science teacher for being late once again.

Suddenly she felt a hand tip her lightly on the shoulder from behind.

"Hey, you need some help?", a boy's voice asked.

Embarrassed, she turned her head to look at said boy. It was raining slightly, so she couldn't quit make him out, but he seemed to be roughly her age, maybe just a little older. He definitely was taller than her and had dark, almost jet black hair.

Realising she still hadn't responded, Pepper blushed slightly and desperately thought of something to say that would save what was left of her dignity. Without waiting for her to respond he grabbed her arm and gently pulled her back to her feet. Pepper's hair was a complete mess from her bathing session and she was quit pissed, considering the reason she was late in the first place was that she had spent an extra five minutes in front of the mirror.

The boy's warm, chocolate brown eyes rested on her and she blushed even deeper.

"Thanks.", she murmured nervously.

"No problem.", he responded coolly. Pepper then took a better look at him, realizing two things. One, he was undeniably handsome and two, he looked an offal lot like… Tony Stark!

She had completely forgotten! Which was quit surprising, considering the entire town hadn't stopped talking about Tony Stark, who would soon be visiting the local school.

Still, it was a long shot that Tony Stark, the son of legendary weapons designer Howard Stark himself, had just helped her out of a puddle. Her eyes widened however as she noticed the long stretched black limousine across the street.

"Your…",

"Tony Stark", the genius himself completed her sentence, a cocky grin plastered onto his face.

Pepper simply gaped at him for a second before noticing something else.

She was going to be late for class! Normally she wouldn't care, but her science teacher had threatened to make her write a two thousand word essay if she wasn't on time at least once this weak. Well, it was Thursday and she was running out of options.

"Oh crap, I'm so dead if I'm not on time!", Pepper voiced her thoughts.

Tony seemed genuinely surprised that he wasn't the centre of her attention anymore.

_Since when did girls start caring more about being on time than me?_, he mused.

_Interesting. But I'm not liking the whole "Let's ignore Tony Stark" thing._

"You can ride with me.", Tony nodded towards the limo.

That caught Pepper's attention and she once again gaped at him. She quickly regained her composure and replied: "Oh, that's all right, I'll just…"

_What exactly?_, she thought, frustrated. All she knew was, that she wasn't prepared for arriving at school in Tony Stark's limousine.

_Everyone's gonna think I'm one of his girlfriends!_

He could actually see her thinking of an excuse not to come with him and was once again caught off guard. _Most girls would kill for a ride with me._

But the girl stood in front of him obviously wasn't "most girls" and that made him curious. He couldn't quit place his finger on it, but he really wanted to get to know her better.

Which was quit unusual for him. It wasn't that he didn't know how to act around girls, on the contrary, he doubted that most sixteen-year-olds had had as many girlfriends as him. He hadn't actually liked any of those girls, though. His father insisted on calling them his girlfriends, though it was pretty clear that they were merely affairs.

He pulled his eyes back to the redheaded girl with the sparkling blue eyes and found her still searching for an excuse.

_I could say __that I forgot something at home. Or that a friend is going to pick me up. Or…_

_Why is he looking at me like that? I really need some__ kind of excuse…_

He chuckled then, making Pepper forget what she was thinking.

"What?", she asked, slightly annoyed at the awkwardness of the situation.

That didn't seem to phase him, he simply grinned and answered: "I won't bite."

She shot him a sceptical glare and he actually seemed to rethink his statement.

"Unless you want me to.", he added while smirking at her.

She became uncomfortably aware of his gaze, as well of the fact, that her clothes were still soaking wet and her hair was a complete mess. She blushed the colour of her hair, which made Tony smirk even more. He chuckled once again before taking her hand and dragging her towards the limousine. He shoved her into the vehicle and immediately followed.

Pepper noticed the limousine had that certain new car smell, every recently purchased car smelled of. She hadn't expected anything else, the Starks, after all, had more than enough money to buy a new car every time their son had to be driven to school.

Tony basically sat there the entire time, staring at her, trying to figure her out. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"So…", Tony made an attempt at starting a conversation.

"So?", she definitely wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"What do I call you?", he finally asked, thinking it was a good enough question.

"My name is Virginia, but everyone calls me Pepper.", she explained, feeling insecure.

"Pepper? Why's that?", he asked curiously.

"I'm… not sure.", she shrugged. "I was given that nickname in preschool. I don't know why."

"Well, it sort of fits you. Pepper.", he repeated the name, deciding that he liked it.

"So you've never been to a public school?", she asked after a moment of silence.

"Huh? No, not really. I used to have a private tutor, but…", Tony grinned. "Actually, I had many tutors. My dad decided we needed a different solution after my thirty-seventh tutor resigned due to stress."

Pepper tried to suppress a giggle, at which she failed terribly, earning a self satisfied smirk from Tony. He was some what relieved that he was able to get a giggle out of her.

Pepper smiled at Tony and for the first time really looked into his eyes. She loved the colour, it made his eyes look like they consisted of liquid chocolate. They were deep and soulful and…

"Your blushing.", Tony stated calmly.

"Am not!", Pepper shrieked, though it only made her blush an even deeper shade of red.

"Right.", Tony said while giving his best smirk and leaning back against the leather seats.

She turned her head towards the window, wishing for nothing more than for her face to return to it's normal colour. She eventually calmed down and mimicked Tony by leaning back in her own seat. And though she was still quit embarrassed, the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.

**I love, love, absolutely love reviews!**

**:)**


	2. Chapter 2

The limousine pulled up in front of the school and Pepper grew increasingly nervous.

_This is going to be terrible! Not to mention embarrassing!_

As if to confirm her suspicions a mob of overly excited fan girls and several paparazzi stormed towards the area where Tony's driver had parked the car.

Pepper sunk into her seat in an attempt to hide from the hysterical screams and flashing lights outside the car. Tony noticed her uneasiness and was slightly concerned.

_If this is gonna go badly, __she's definitely going to be pissed at me._

"It's not as bad as it looks.", he said nonetheless while flashing her a reassuring smile.

Pepper nodded, seeing no other way to get out of the limo apart from the one that led them threw the excited mob.

Tony opened the door on his end, climbed out of the luxurious vehicle and reached his hand out to Pepper. She hesitantly excepted it, knowing how this was going to look in front of the press.

_He's just helping you out of the limo. The paparazzi won't make too big a deal of it, right?_, she silently hoped.

Tony pulled her out of the limousine and she had to blink several times before she could see anything threw the flashing lights produced by the Paparazzi. She had never seen so many people at one place before. The entire school had assembled around the limousine, the shrieking girls up front, desperately trying to touch Tony. She could see some of the boys shooting him jealous looks.

For a moment everyone grew silent as they noticed Tony and Pepper had stepped out of the limo, but only seconds later the girls exploded in happy screams once again and the paparazzi attacked the teenager's causing all the commotion with dozens of questions.

"Tony, how does it feel to visit a public school?", a relatively young paparazzo asked, obviously disappointed as Tony ignored him and simply pulled Pepper towards the entrance of the school.

"Tony, who's the lovely young lady you have with you there? Is she your new girlfriend?", a slightly older one demanded. Pepper blushed furiously, noticing some of her classmates who looked at her disbelievingly.

She was relieved her best friend, Louise, wasn't one of the spectators. She would never let Pepper live this down. She suddenly became very aware of Tony's hand that was still holding on to hers. No wonder they thought she was his newest girlfriend.

"Tony, let go of my hand.", she whispered to him so that he was the only one to hear.

Tony understood what she meant and since he didn't want to humiliate her even more reluctantly let go of her hand.

"Too bad.", he whispered back in response, making Pepper smile and blush at the same time.

They had almost made their way towards the entrance as an especially determined Paparazzo jumped in front of them and asked:

"Tony, what happened to your private tutors?"

The two of them actually laughed at this. They squirmed past the confused man and Tony held open the entrance door for Pepper.

"Thanks.", she murmured for the second time that day.

The school was relatively empty since everyone was outside. They stepped away from the door and almost immediately it flew back open. The entrance was soon clogged up due to the increasing amount of students trying to get into the school.

Tony and Pepper used this to their advantage and quickly climbed the stairs in search of Peppers classroom.

"So where do we have to go?", Tony asked, grateful that they could finally talk without any background noise.

"Well, I have to go to room 107, I don't know where you have to go, though.", Pepper explained. "Do you know which class you're in?"

Tony shrugged. "Whatever class you're in, I guess."

"It doesn't exactly work that way. The school decides for you.", she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I'm Tony Stark. No one decides for me."

Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Right.", she stated sarcastically.

She didn't mind him being in her class, though. Actually, she liked the thought of seeing him more often. He might be an arrogant prick, but she could tell there was more to him than that. And for whatever reason, she really enjoyed his company.

It didn't take them long to find room 107. Pepper took a deep breath before entering the room, knowing that her classmates most likely would give her odd looks for showing up with Tony Stark. As expected, only a few students had fought their way back into the school or had simply stayed their to start with. Louise was one of them. She apparently hadn't wanted to join the mob, well aware that if she did so, she would have been overrun by hundreds of excited fans.

As Tony and Pepper entered the classroom everyone looked towards them. Since no one took the opportunity to say something, Louise thought she might as well get up and ask her friend about Tony Stark.

Pepper saw Louise cross the room and instantly knew what she was in for.

_Why were you in Tony Stark's limousine?_

_Why was he holding your __hand?_

_You're totally in to him, aren't you?_

Pepper could already here Louise questioning her. With a sudden sigh of relieve she realized that Louise couldn't know any of that, since she had opted to stay in the classroom.

"Why were you in Tony Stark's limousine?", Louise asked completely ignoring the fact that said celebrity was stood next to them.

_What's up with everyone ignoring me at this school?_, Tony, who was used to being the centre of everyone's attention, wondered.

"Oh, you heard about that, huh?", Pepper responded, feeling defeated.

"Actually I watched from over there.", Louise said while pointing towards the window.

"You still haven't answered my question, though.", she added.

Tony, still lacking attention, jumped in for Pepper.

"My driver sort of got lost and we ended up next to a bus station where I found Pepper on the ground, sitting in a puddle."

Louise was in shock from Tony Stark having talked to her, so it took a few seconds for the information to sink in. When she finally comprehended what he had said, she turned back to Pepper and exclaimed:

"Oh. So that's why you're soaking wet."

Pepper had completely forgotten about that and was caught of guard by the sudden realisation that she was indeed still very wet.

Pepper quickly hurried off towards the school's nearest bathroom, where she dried herself off and fixed her hair the best she could without a comb. When she was finally satisfied with her appearance, she made her way back to room 107.

She pulled open the door and was devastated to find her science teacher, Mr. Dover, sitting at his desk.

"Well, well. Late again, Miss Potts, are we?"

"But… I…", Pepper stuttered unintelligibly. "Oh, forget about it."

She let out a frustrated sigh and turned towards the class.

Tony smiled at her from a seat in the back of class. He waved her over to him.

_Well, everyone already thinks I'__m his girlfriend. I guess it won't make any difference if I take the seat next to him._

She then made her way over him, only to be interrupted by Mr. Dover.

"Miss Potts, I think it would be better for you to sit up front."

_God, I hate him so much!_, Pepper silently fumed.

"Actually, I think it would be better for Miss Potts to sit next to me. If that won't cause any problems.", Tony told Mr. Dover with a threatening undertone.

"Um, o-of course not.", a very intimidated Mr. Dover replied.

Tony and Pepper smirked at each other as she pulled out the chair next to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony wasn't particularly enjoying class.

The problem wasn't the lesson itself. Science is mostly based on logic, so naturally, he had a knack for it. He wasn't called a genius for nothing.

No, science definitely wasn't his problem with class. Much more so the concept of public school. He just didn't get it. Apparently, he wasn't supposed to get up during the lesson for spontaneous coffee breaks. Or play Tetris on his iStark. Hell, he wasn't even allowed to talk! The last time someone tried to silence him, they woke up the next morning with blue spots on their tongue that yet have to vanish.

_I didn't like that tutor anyway._, Tony justified his actions.

Pepper tried to make it clear to him that he should just sit still and pay attention for the rest of the lesson, but Tony had other plans. She watched as her new friend used his iStark to hack into the schools computer system. Tony had just pulled up a file showing Pepper's grades as Mr. Dover asked him a question.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yep.", came Tony's oblivious reaction.

Mr. Dover sighed. At first he had been intimidated by the great Tony Stark, but halfway into the lesson he had become just plain annoying.

"Mr. Stark, you really should be paying attention.", he scolded the obviously bored teenager.

"I don't see why.", Tony reasoned. "I'm far more intelligent than you already."

"Well, not everyone is born a genius.", Mr. Dover lectured. "I happened to obtain my knowledge threw hard work. Why, if I would have slacked off like you…"

"Then it would have most likely looked something like this.", Tony interrupted his teacher while holding out his iStark so that everyone could see a picture of Mr. Dover at a local club. Needless to say he was making out with some lightly clothed blonde, who was at least ten years younger than him.

The entire class burst out laughing. Even Pepper, though she was trying not to. Not that she liked Mr. Dover, but she just had to feel sorry for any teacher that got stuck with Tony as a student.

Mr. Dover's head turned slightly read, though it was hard to tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.

"I was drunk.", he murmured, feeling uncomfortable.

"No, you were slacking off.", Tony replied wittily. He had that cocky grin plastered onto his face again. Pepper thought it was kind of hot.

_Whoa, down girl!_, she told herself off. _What am I, one of his mindless fan girls?_

The bell rang and for once Mr. Dover was the first to storm out of the classroom.

Tony seemed quit pleased with himself as he put his iStark back into his pocket and turned to face Pepper.

"So, am I free to get out of here now?", he asked hopefully.

"Not even close.", Pepper laughed. "That was only our first lesson."

"What? But I sat in that damned chair, like, for at least an hour!"

"Exactly.", Louise chimed in. "Each lesson is sixty minutes long."

Tony sunk back into his chair and sighed.

The next few hours passed uneventfully. Well, as uneventful as class with Tony Stark can be.

Pepper was slightly worried about one thing, though. The school cafeteria. She was pretty sure that Tony was not going to be pleased with the food that was served there. And if she had learned one thing in the last couple of hours, it was that when things weren't to Tony's liking, he would make it quit clear. If she wanted to avoid him making a scene, she would have to somehow stir him away from the cafeteria.

"Tony…", she started as the two of them, as well as Louise, were heading to lunch. "You know, the school cafeteria really isn't that great. Maybe we should go to McDonalds or something."

"Aw, come on, Pep.", her heart fluttered as he called her that. "I've put myself threw most of the school day, I might as well go check out the cafeteria, like any normal student would."

He looked at her with the most adorable expression that made her forget about why she didn't want to let him go there.

"Yeah, come on, Pep.", Louise mocked the pet name Tony had just given Pepper.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." She really loved his eyes.

Tony smirked under Pepper's gaze.

_Pepper, stop staring already!_, Pepper tried to control her actions.

"Okay, I'll leave you guys to it. I'm supposed to meet Shawn in five minutes anyway."

And with that Louise left them to go find her boyfriend.

"So, when your done staring at me, I'm thinking we should get something to eat."

"Huh?", Pepper had been lost in his eyes.

Tony chuckled, then grabbed her hand and walked them towards the cafeteria. As they wondered threw the empty hallway Tony's thumb lightly caressed the back of Pepper's hand. He wasn't even doing it purposely, it just felt natural. Pepper on the other hand was very aware of what he was doing and it made it hard for her to suppress the butterflies in her stomach.

_This is Tony Stark, for god's sake!_

They arrived at the cafeteria before Pepper had even had a chance to consider removing her hand out of Tony's grasp. He smiled at her and against all odds, she felt genuinely happy.

Until Tony spotted the food he had been so eager to eat. It all looked terrible, without fail.

_If I back down now, Pepper's gonna think I have mood swings or something._

Deciding he'd just have to endure it, he pulled Pepper towards a counter upon which there was a big bowl of spinach and several plates. He cautiously took one of said plates, trying to pick one that was at least remotely clean. After obtaining one for Pepper as well, Tony took a closer look at the spinach, noticing it had a some what odd colour.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. How old is this spinach?", Tony asked the lunch lady stood behind the counter in a surprisingly polite voice.

_This better impress Pepper._

"Spinach? Son, this is last week's tuna salad."

_I have my limits._, Tony silently fumed.

"What's wrong with this place?", he suddenly snapped at the lunch lady.

"Tony.", Pepper tried to pull him towards the exit.

"Seriously, last week's tuna salad? Pepper, look at it, it's green!", he exclaimed disbelievingly.

"I told you we should have gone to McDonalds.", Pepper argued while dragging Tony along.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, here's the next chapter.**

**I'd like to thank everyone who's following the story and a special thanks goes to MildlyPsychotic for my first review ever.**

**:)**

"I'm starving!", Tony whined as Pepper and him approached his limousine shortly after the final bell had rung.

Surprisingly, the paparazzi had opted for staying in the background and silently taking their pictures of Tony, rather than forming a hysterical mob.

"Well, it's your fault we didn't have enough time to go to McDonalds.", Pepper pointed out for the millionth time since their misadventure in the school cafeteria. Tony sighed exasperatedly before opening the limo's door and gesturing for her to get in. Pepper smiled at his offer, but shook her head as means of a declining gesture.

"What, you're not coming with me?", Tony asked confused. "I could drop you off at your place."

"Thanks, really. But my parents are going to freak if I show up with you.", Pepper explained. "They're not exactly your biggest fans."

_That's one hell of an understatement._, she mused.

Her parents hated everything about Tony Stark. Whenever there was a report of him showing on the TV, they would immediately switch into "Rant about Tony Stark mode". It was quit amusing actually, watching them argue about who hated him the most. To be fair, she used to be a part of said arguments, though she hadn't known Tony personally then.

"I'm sure my Stark charm could persuade them otherwise.", Tony's self confidence was kicking back in.

"Anyway…", Pepper ignored his last comment. "I'm taking the bus."

"Yeah, well…", Tony elongated. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

He then turned towards her and leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. As expected, Pepper blushed once again and the paparazzi sprung back to life, flashing their cameras at the two of them. Unexpected however, was the warm smile grazing Tony's features, rather than his usual smirk. He waved at her before entering his limo and Pepper watched as the vehicle drove off. She couldn't help but smile, too.

The paparazzi eyed her up like hungry beasts, so Pepper made a run for the bus stop before they could ask her any questions. She really didn't want to go home right now, but if she stayed here with the paparazzi, the odds of her parents finding out that she had befriended Tony Stark would increase dangerously.

An hour later, Pepper had arrived at her apartment and was now stood in front of the door.

She hesitated a moment before stepping into said apartment, fearing the worst. It would probably be best for her to just sneak into her room and…

"Pepper!", she heard her father call from the kitchen.

_Now I'm in for it._, Pepper panicked.

"Yes, Dad?", Pepper responded in an angel like tone.

At that Mr. Potts stuck his head out of the kitchen and gazed at her suspiciously.

"What are you up to?, he asked, having caught on rather quickly.

_He knows. He so knows._

"What are you talking about?", Pepper counter asked, feigning confusion.

Pepper watched as her father's eyebrows rose in disbelieve. He gave her a disapproving look, knowing that she was trying to hide something from him.

_He really doesn't have a clue._, Pepper thought, relieved.

Feeling slightly more confident, she attempted keeping up her charade.

"Seriously, I have no idea, what you're talking about."

Mr. Potts shot her another suspicious glare before deciding that he wasn't going to get anything out of his daughter. He shrugged and made his way back into the kitchen.

_Phew, that was a close one._, Pepper concluded.

Deciding she was safe, Pepper jumped over to her room. She was about to turn the handle of her door, when suddenly the inevitable shriek of her farther ripped threw the silence.

"Virginia Potts, get down here right now!", his furious words could be heard throughout the entire building. Pepper froze.

_He called me "Virginia"._, Pepper worried. _That means he's seriously pissed._

Knowing he must have found out somehow, Pepper sighed regretfully and stepped back into the connecting hallway. She took one last deep breath before finally entering the small, but wonderfully cosy kitchen.

"Yes, Dad?", she replied once more upon taking in the sight of her rather infuriated father.

_This is going to end badly._, Pepper observed.

Mr. Potts then pointed towards the pathetically small television which was showing a scene that was all too familiar to Pepper.

The footage showed Pepper being kissed on the cheek by one Anthony Edward Stark.

_Great._, she could actually hear the sarcasm within her own mind.

Making the situation even worse, one of the reporters that had questioned Tony and her earlier this morning was commenting the scene:

"…first day at a public school. As you can see, the youngest Stark isn't having a hard time finding a new girlfriend. As confirmed by several students attending the local school, the redheaded girl displayed here goes by the name of "Virginia Potts", more frequently referred to as "Pepper". She first came to our attention…"

Pepper felt like killing Tony.

It wasn't actually his fault that the paparazzi came hunting after him, but she really didn't know who else to blame for this mess. Well, the paparazzi, obviously. But it was easier to be mad at one celebrity than at a giant mob of paparazzi stalking said celebrity.

"What were you thinking?", Mr. Stark interrogated his daughter. "You're not seriously telling me that you're one of his girlfriends?"

"Of course not!", Pepper exclaimed, though she didn't dare look him in the eyes.

"We're just friends.", she added after a slight pause.

"You can't just be friends with Tony Stark!", Pepper's farther snapped at her, utterly bewildered. "I mean, he's, he's…"

Pepper's cell vibrated at that moment.

_Anything to get out of this conversation._, Pepper thought while answering the call.

"Hey, here's Tony.", an impatient voice rang in her ear, not even waiting for her to ask who was on the line.

"Oh, hi.", Pepper's eyes widened as she desperately tried to look anywhere but at her father.

"Hi? That's all I get? Nothing like: "Nice to hear from you, too, oh love of my live." ?", Tony could picture Pepper rolling her eyes at that.

"Hold on a sec.", she said simply, then covered the microphone.

"Dad, it's Louise.", Pepper lied to her father. "She sounds really upset, something about Shawn and her having a fight. Can I talk to her, please?"

Not wanting to keep his daughter from comforting a friend in distress, Mr. Potts sighed heavily and caved.

"Fine, but this conversation isn't over."

"Thanks, Dad.", Pepper gave him a quick hug before hurrying into her room.

Feeling safe, now that she had closed the door behind her, Pepper lifted her cell back up to her ear.

"…thinking about modifying the internal combustion engine…", a bored voice came out of her phone.

"Tony?", Pepper asked, some what confused.

"Oh, you're back again.", Tony stated, slightly annoyed. "Tony Stark shouldn't have to wait for anyone. I get bored rather quickly."

"I've noticed." Pepper responded equally annoyed. "Why did you call?"

"Did you see the report about us, just now?", Tony asked, not doing a very good job at hiding the smirk in his voice. Though he probably wasn't even trying to.

"Yes, I did.", Pepper stated dryly. "It was terrible."

"I thought so, too.", Tony agreed, his smirk still audible. "The quality of the footage was outrageous. I couldn't even make out your blush after I kissed your cheek."

Pepper rolled her eyes. Again.

_God, he can be annoying!_

"Anyway.", Tony took advantage of the momentary silence. "Where are you?"

"At my apartment.", Pepper answered cautiously. "Why?"

"Because I happen to be stood outside of said apartment and thought I might as well ask if you're in before wasting all that energy on ringing the doorbell."

_My dad is __going to kill me!_, Pepper panicked.

"Tony, listen to me. Whatever you do, don't ring the doorbell. My dad isn't in the best mood right now.", she explained.

"I'm sure I could cheer him up.", Tony suggested jokingly.

"Anthony Edward Stark! Don't you dare ring that doorbell!"

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review, I appreciate all constructive criticism. Pleeeease!**


	5. Chapter 5

Pepper's heart fell upon hearing the familiar sound of the doorbell being rung.

_Tony is so __going to pay for this!_, a rather infuriated Pepper thought.

As she stood there, imagining the most painful way to torture a certain celebrity, she heard her father's footsteps approaching the front door. Pepper panicked once again, knowing that her farther wouldn't be pleased to find Tony Stark in front of their apartment.

"I'll get it!", Pepper called, doing her best to save the situation.

"That's alright, honey.", Mr. Potts replied in a slightly less annoyed voice than during their previous conversation. "You continue talking to Louise."

_Well, at least I'm a decent liar._, Pepper concluded while hurrying over to the front door, desperately trying to keep her farther from seeing who was stood behind it.

"Dad, don't!", she cried out to her farther, merely footsteps away from her destination.

When Pepper finally arrived at the front door, Mr. Potts had already opened it and was now incomprehensively staring at an obnoxiously grinning Tony Stark.

Tony returned Mr. Potts' gaze at first, until he eventually got bored and decided to mess with Pepper. And the most effective way of doing so was to intimidate her father.

"Tony Stark.", Tony extended his hand, the grin never leaving his face.

Mr. Potts wasn't quit prepared for encountering the youngest Stark. So rather than shaking the genius' hand, he stood there dumbly, giving him a disbelieving look.

Embarrassed by her father's reaction, Pepper gently nudged him in the ribcage, hoping he'd eventually catch on. At first it didn't help much, but after several moments had passed, Mr. Potts' eyes widened and he hastily excepted Tony's hand and shook it.

_This is going to be fun._, Tony thought, a rather evil expression plastered onto his face.

"Uh…", Mr. Potts elongated.

He had always hated Tony Stark. Sure, the boy was undeniably a genius. But he was as arrogant as he was intelligent. He liked showing off his money, not to mention his girls.

Girls. That was the main reason Mr. Potts' disliked Tony Stark. He had seen far too many reports of broken hearted girls, all of which had been replaced by the next pretty face. Being a father, Mr. Potts instinctively felt protective of said girls. And now his own daughter was about to become one of them.

Still, Tony had a rather intimidating personality and in that moment, Mr. Potts couldn't have felt smaller.

Her father's behaviour was seriously becoming humiliating for Pepper. He had been the last person she would have expected to crumble at the sight of the great Tony Stark.

Tony noticed Pepper's uneasiness and winked at her.

"Hey, Pep.", Tony greeted cheerfully while making his way over to her.

That caught Mr. Potts' attention. He immediately snapped out of his intimidated trance and caught Tony by his wrist.

"Listen to me, Stark.", he spat out angrily. "If you break my daughter's heart, I swear to God, I'll make you pay for it."

"Wasn't planning on it.", Tony responded coolly.

Mr. Potts glared furiously at Tony's dismissive response.

"Dad, we're just friends!", Pepper chimed in.

"Well, actually, that's only our current status.", Tony disagreed. "In a few weeks however…"

"Tony!", Pepper scolded her not quit well behaved friend.

Tony, amused by her frantic reaction, smirked at her.

"You arrogant bastard…", Mr. Potts started, only to be interrupted by the arrogant bastard himself.

"In all honesty, I have no intention of breaking your daughter's heart. As Pepper already said, we're just friends.", Tony explained sincerely, though he couldn't help quietly adding:

"For now."

Mr. Potts was far from liking Tony. But despite his last comment, the honesty in his voice convinced Mr. Potts to at least give him a chance. He hesitantly let go of Tony's hand and by doing so, gave him permission to interact with his daughter.

Unexpectedly, Tony felt some what relieved.

_Like I need his permission to hang out with Pepper._, Tony told him self off. Seeking the acceptance of another person was a sign of weakness. But upon seeing Pepper's genuinely relieved smile, he thought that maybe gaining the acceptance of this particular person wasn't entirely useless.

Mr. Potts gave Tony one last warning look and then wandered back off into the kitchen.

"Well that was… interesting.", Tony concluded once Pepper and him were alone.

"More like disastrous and humiliating.", Pepper stated dryly.

"Aw, come on. It wasn't that bad.", he tried to reason with her. "I think your father's warming up to me."

"Yes, him calling you an arrogant bastard is definitely a good sign.", Pepper commented sarcastically.

"I've been called worse.", Tony shrugged.

"So, aren't you going to show me your room?", he requested after a momentary pause.

Pepper was slightly worried about the impression her room would make. She knew of the ridiculously large Stark mansion and doubted that her tiny room was going to cut it.

Still, she didn't want to make up some silly excuse.

"Alright.", Pepper walked over to the door which led to her room.

"Here it is.", she then announced, feeling rather insecure.

Tony immediately liked Pepper's room. Sure, it was merely half the size of his, but he enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere.

He wasn't saying anything and Pepper grew increasingly nervous.

_I knew he'd hate i__t._

"It's probably nothing compared to your room, but it's the best my father could manage.", she attempted justifying her disgraceful room.

All of a sudden, Tony flashed her a warm smile and sincerely told her:

"I love it."

Pepper smiled at him for the longest time, a smile that Tony gladly returned. Their gaze was first broken when Tony spotted Pepper's Blackberry and an idea sprung to his mind. He swiftly grabbed the phone she had left in her room after their previous conversation and flopped himself onto the bed.

"What are you doing with my cell?", Pepper asked cautiously, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

He grinned up at her from the bed and explained:

"I'm going to modify your blackberry so that it'll have the same efficiency as the iStark."

"You will do no such thing!", Pepper told him off. "I have some important stuff on that phone. What if you'll destroy it?"

"I'm not called a genius for nothing.", Tony responded confidently. "Trust me, I designed the iStark. I know what I'm doing. Anyway, what kind of important documents could you possibly have on there?"

"Music. Lot's of music.", she made it clear that this was a serious matter.

"Wow, that sounds really important.", Tony commented in a dismissive voice while taking a closer look at the blackberry.

"Tony!", Pepper shrieked.

"Did you know that people pay millions of dollars every day for one of my iStarks?", Tony pointed out.

She didn't even bother to react. Instead, she snatched her blackberry out of his hands and attempted to walk away. She didn't make it far, though, as Tony's hand reached out to grab her wrist and pulled her down onto the bed next to him. He easily stole back the blackberry and yelled in triumph.

Pepper lightly slapped Tony's arm, then reached over him in an attempt at getting her cell back. He wouldn't have it, though. She hadn't even gotten near the object in question as Tony rolled over rather forcefully, thus pushing her off of the bed. She landed on the carpet with a soft thump, determined to give Tony a taste of his own medicine.

Pepper mimicked Tony by grabbing his hand and pulling him down to the floor.

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